# Validation of the Chinese version of the Contrast Avoidance Questionnaires

## TL;DR

This study validated a Chinese version of the Contrast Avoidance Questionnaires to assess emotional avoidance and its link to mental health.

## Contribution

The study provides a culturally adapted and validated Chinese version of the Contrast Avoidance Questionnaires.

## Key findings

- The Chinese CAQs replicated the original factor structures with acceptable reliability.
- Both subscales showed good convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity for GAD symptoms.
- The validated tool enables future research on cultural differences in emotional avoidance and mental health.

## Abstract

The current study aimed to validate the Chinese version of Contrast Avoidance Questionnaires (CAQs), developed based on the Contrast Avoidance Model.

In Study 1, we translated the CAQs into Chinese and modified them after back-translation. We then used two separate Chinese samples (N = 350 and 309, respectively) to explore and validate the factor structure of both CAQ measures. In Study 2, we used a third sample of Chinese college students (N = 388) to examine reliability and construct validity.

The original 3 and 2-factor structures for CAQ-Worry and CAQ-General Emotion, respectively, were replicated with acceptable reliability. Compared to the original version, both subscales had acceptable convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity for GAD symptomatology.

Validation of the CAQs in Chinese allows for future studies of cultural differences in avoiding emotional contrasts and their relationship with mental health problems.